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Premier Pain Institute treats many patients based on referral. Patients who have been successfully treated often refer family members and friends to Premier Pain Institute through their primary care physician. Patients are also welcome to contact Premier Pain Institute directly, or request that their primary care physician obtain a referral from their insurance carrier. Patients arrive for treatment not only from the length and breadth of the USA but also across from Canada, B.C. and other countries.
The diagnostic and interventional procedures are usually covered by most insurance carriers. The patients can also request appeals or external reviews from insurance plans for those not covered occasionally. Patients also have the option of making payments directly to Premier Pain Institute for their services.
Patients are required to be punctual for their appointments. It is expected by Premier Pain Institute that patients continue to stay involved and responsible for their medical care. It is the responsibility of the patients and or referring physician to ensure that a patient arrives with appropriate and relevant medical records and reports for the condition that they are being referred to for a consult. This typically means x-ray reports, MRI reports, neurology reports, spine surgery consultation, and EMG and nerve conduction study. Usually, patients don't need to bring bulky x-ray packages with them, unless specifically requested. Bringing the relevant reports at the time of consult results in efficient utilization of physician/patient interaction, and also expedites the care of patients in speeding up formulating a plan of therapy.
“What the mind does not know the eyes cannot see!”
-- Dr. Vengurlekar
Dr. Vengurlekar takes pride in his diagnostic skills. An accurate diagnosis is extremely important and can only be arrived at by a meticulous and diligent patient history of symptoms of pain and by a thorough relevant physical clinical examination. In 99% of patients, Dr. Vengurlekar makes an accurate diagnosis just from patient information and physical examination alone. Review of reports of MRI, x-ray, and other studies may be of assistance. It is therefore imperative that patients pay attention to all the details of filling out forms presented to them at the time of the interview. A typical initial consultation may require the patient to spend between 1 to 1.5 hours in the office.
Dr. Vengurlekar may also occasionally advise additional appropriate testing or consultation from neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, or other specialists to confirm or rule out other conditions which may figure in the differential diagnosis.
The Premier Pain Institute has multiple telephone lines and it is rare for a patient to get an answering machine, or a bewildering array of voice menus, if calling during regular business hours. The staff and the office of Dr. Vengurlekar run very efficiently and we take immense pride in serving our patients' needs promptly. |
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| Premier Pain Institute stands for Diagnostic Ability, Knowledge, Integrity and Taking Care of Patients. From the age of 16 years old, Dr. Vengurlekar has devoted his life to achieving that goal. |
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